She Had Style! She Had Flair! Why The Nanny Is Still a Fashion Icon

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Photo: Courtesy of CBS

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To be declared one of American television’s most fashionable stars certainly takes a kind of daring—or in the case of The Nanny’s Fran Fine, chutzpah. After all, the nasal-voiced fashion plate was the lady who wore “red while everyone else [was] wearing tan.” Wiggling her way onto prime-time in 1993 in a seemingly endless supply of waist-whittling patterned minis and flashy Todd Oldham rainbow-bright suits, Fine not only revitalized childcare as we know it, she brought fashionable quirk to network TV. Played by comedienne Fran Drescher, Fine was something of a minx; she used her style and flair to charm the stuffy British widower Mr. Sheffield into hiring her to rear his three listless Upper East Side children.

When Drescher’s character moves into the tony townhouse, she brings her ample closet—and kooky hijinks—with her. Whether wearing Anna Sui’s feather-trimmed day-glow plaid suits; green patent-leather, hip-hugging Courrèges; or kitschy Moschino minis, Fine was a maximalist whose larger-than-life style was matched only by her teased raven roots. “Tacky” was the insult often lodged at her by her onscreen enemy, the primly buttoned-up (and very beige) “C.C.”, but in fact Fine’s looks breathed fresh air into the household—and were right on trend with the early ’90s fascination with the mod ’60s.

A bargain hunter and a Loehmann’s loyalist, Fine also proved you could do high end on a budget. A mainstream hi-low shopper, her looks are as salient today as they were during the show’s six seasons. In fact, one has to wonder if Jeremy Scott was watching old episodes when designing his “psychedelically glam” Moschino’s Resort 2017 collection? The ornate minidresses strike an uncanny resemblance to the very beaded floral crop top and mini Fine once made famous.

But perhaps Fine’s greatest style achievement was her $12,000 wedding dress, when she finally wound up with Mr. Sheffield by the series’ end. With a four-foot-long train and a fifteen-foot-long veil, it was a true reflection of Fine’s sybaritic tastes. Even after years of hopping onto Mr. Sheffield’s desk in a sleek combo of turtleneck, thigh-grazing mini, opaque tights, and over-the-knee boots, it turns out she was more a part of the family than not.

Here, a look at Fine’s best looks that brought the house down. You may just find some inspiration for your own.